Icebound Heart
by Velvet-Glaive
Summary: An old soldier with a dark past emerges from beyond Arendelle's north, and unexpectedly settles in the city, and becomes more and more entwined with it and its queen. Fairly dark themes along with a fair bit of violence and bloodletting as the story progresses.
1. Emergence

Ice Bound Heart

**A/N**

**Hi, this is my first Frozen fanfic, super excited to publish it, enjoy and remember to favorite and review, Thanks!**

**-Glaive**

_Suddenly, he was there again, wandering through that scorched city, ashes littering the blackened cobbles, the fires that had been consuming the city now dying. A man stood awestruck by the totality of the destruction. Not a soul was to be seen or heard, indeed it seemed that the city's heartbeat had been violently stripped of it. His face betrays a long and dark past, scars marring what would have been otherwise fine features. There was no concentrated area where the scars resided, simply scars across his entire face, speaking of a life spent fighting. He takes a step forward, unsure of his surroundings, his senses screaming at him to leave this place. Yet he needs to know more, he was once told that he would find a city of ashes in a shadow of death. He remembers he was told that the clock tower was where the ruin began. He scans the desolated skyline for a clock tower, but sees nothing. Sighing he wonders if what he was told was wrong, then he sees it. A face of a clock tower lying sideways in the middle of a plaza, the surrounding ground blackened heavily. He approaches gingerly, expecting the worst, and when he is not more than 5 five feet from its face, he realizes his imagination mightn't have been wrong. Then, like so many times before, his dream warps and the nightmare begins all over again._

Ennen woke with a gasp, fear still gripping his mind. Struggling, he props himself up against the tree and sighs. The coals of his campfire has long since died, leaving only mournful charred black lumps. _After all these years, you're still here old friend, _He thinks to himself, shuddering at the memory. He can tell that Artorias is asleep though, he can feel part of his mind being slightly empty. _You'd think a man and his ghost companion would be perfectly in sync_, he smiled to himself on the inside. He looks up at the sky, judging it to be around 6 in the morning, ideal time to get going. He slid out of his blanket and rolled it up, tying it to his bag, and stuffed heavily wrapped leather book into the top. He then grabbed his pot that he had forgotten to put away last night and attached it to one of the straps on the pack. _Some Named you are Ennen, forgetting to put your things away, you've gotten sloppy_, he chided himself mentally. He paused and stared at the pot when another person entered his mind, Artorias, the ghost of a warrior king who had tethered himself to Ennen's mind, it was a long sad story. _I wonder how long you've had that pot_ Artorias wondered, as Ennen gazed at it.

"Probably since Nils died" Ennen responded out loud, it wasn't the first time he had appeared to be talking to the silent air.

_Huh _Artorias responded

"You certainly have deep and profound feelings today don't you?" Ennen mused, as he slid on his pack. And picked up his sword.

_Not as deep as thinking about women you haven't seen in 5 years Ennen. _

That made Ennen chuckle, he never did get the last word with the King. On that note, he started trudging through the thickening snow, winter was coming on hard, as it apparently always did in this country. Just a couple miles ahead lay the North Mountain, which was a profound landmark in these parts, despite its crude naming, it was hardly the northernmost mountain in the entire land, but apparently the Arendellians liked to think it was. Reflecting on the heavy snowfall, Ennen realized he would likely end up staying Arendelle for the winter, due to the mountain passes being blocked by the heavy snowfall. He didn't like that at all, he had wanted to leave the hell of the North, not stumble 50 kilometers and get trapped in another hellhole. He didn't know much about Arendelle, except for a few cryptic pieces of information about their queen being gifted with powers over ice, but the Nordish weren't always reliable sources of information, so he wandered on. After about an hour or so he found himself passing beneath the shadow of the towering North Mountain. He took a couple of seconds out of his trek to gaze at it, he swore he could see something glinting just off the side of the tip of the mountain, but it was unlikely. He pondered investigating, but quickly shoved the thought aside, he wasn't here to sightsee, and trudged on through the steadily thickening snow. Around half an hour later he heard a strange _Shushh_ sound, along with heavy hoof beats, likely a sleigh being pulled by a horse, but Ennen had no clue who we be silly enough to venture out in weather like this. He stopped his progress and dropped to a knee and listened. He heard laughter, light almost birdlike laughter, definitely a young woman and deeper, throaty laughter, likely a young man as well. _ Are a young couple actually frolicking out in the mountains in this weather on a sleigh?! These people really have no idea of the mountains true nature…_ That's when he heard it getting closer, and sure enough a heartbeat later, a massive reindeer came barreling from behind him, overtop the crest of the hill that Ennen had been climbing. Ennen swore vehemently as he was forced to throw himself into a snow drift, the reindeer's horns and metal rails of the sleigh missing his feet by inches. He heaved himself out of the snow, and glared at the sleigh which was now making an abrupt turn in an effort to slow down. He rubbed the snow off his face, his face heating in anger towards this ignorant couple. As he looked on, he saw a young and spritely, pigtailed redhead jumped out of the sled and ran towards him, a look of concern on her face.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" She yelped, her high pitched voice almost piercing Ennen's eardrums.

"Yeah, thanks in no part to you" he said, hostile, "Maybe try a little more precaution next time before I end up a bloody patch on your sleigh"

She was taken aback by his outright hostility, and she didn't really know what to say, other than something rude, but that wouldn't help any of them. Meanwhile Ennen was readying to give her a piece of his mind on his opinions on sleigh driving, but Artorias stepped in. _She's just young, lad, the young are prone to mistakes, I remember you were, so go easy eh? Who knows maybe we'll get a ride into town._ Ennen bit back his un-chivalrous comment that he was prepared to send her way, and apologized.

"Ahh…" he mumbled, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so hasty, it's just been a long week, and I'm hungry so I haven't been in the jolliest of spirits recently, I do hope you accept it" He said, humbly.

Again she was taken aback by his sudden change in personality, and again didn't really know what to say.

"Oh…" She said, "Well, it's alright, I'm sorry about it anyhow. Anyways, my name is Anna"

The young man had finished with the sled and now ran over to Anna and looked at Ennen

"Hey, I'm sorry about that are you alright? It looked like you took a nasty fall there, my sleigh didn't clip you or anything did it?" He asked anxiously, nervously checking over Ennen.

"No, I'm fine as I was just telling Anna here" Ennen gave a wan smile.

"I see you two have already been introduced" The man said, smiling slightly, "My name is Kristoff, yours?"

"Uh…Ennen" Ennen replied, glancing at the sleigh,

"So!" The girl suddenly burst out, apparently full of energy again "Where are you headed for?"

"Well" Ennen replied, unsure of himself, "I guess I'm just headed southern, I haven't really made up my mind. You two are from Arendelle yes?"

"Yup!" The girl replied "We were just heading back there, would you like to join us on the sleigh?"

The man, Kristoff was clearly taken aback by this, but visibly shrugged to himself in defeat. _Oh, I like this girl_ Artorias interjected into Ennen's thoughts. _She has this poor young man wrapped around her pinky finger, hm_. Ennen was also slightly taken aback, and just like Kristoff, shrugged to himself.

"Sure, I'm always grateful for help, it's so seldom out here" Ennen replied, and knelt over to grab the pot that had slipped from his pack, and with a start he realized he still had his sword. That might be hard to explain to a couple who considered falling and scraping oneself to be the most violent thing they had ever witnessed.

Unfortunately though, the girl noticed the gleam of his sword in the sunlight, and stepped forward to see it, and gasped upon sight. Kristoff who had just turned around to get to the sleigh, quickly turned around again, and saw it too.

"Well," Anna said, "I see you are certainly prepared for everything…"

Ennen decided to be frank with her.

"Well, the north is not as welcoming as this place, a sword is a staple of the Nordish" Ennen stated blankly as he wrapped the sword in seal skin.

"Who?" Kristoff was now curious.

"The Nordish, have you never heard of them?" Ennen asked, genuinely surprised.

"Uh…no"

"Oh my…really, you've never been told of what lies north of Arendelle, none of you"

"Well, I was taught" The girl spoke up, "But I haven't ever heard of the Nordish, or any civilization beyond Arendelle's northern mountain ranges."

"Haedrigs teeth…." Ennen said awestruck at the apparent ignorance of the two, "Where were you taught?"

"I was taught by a tutor"

"I daresay he was not a very esteemed one"

Kristoff winced at this comment, awaiting the tirade of indignant responses from his girlfriend.

"I'll have you know sir, that he was and is the best scholar in the land of Arendelle! How dare you speak of our education system like that!"

Ennen then made a very unwise decision.

"In that case I fear that your scholars are worse than the Nordish, and we rely solely on word of mouth to spread our history!"

Anna was brimming with anger at the point Kristoff decided to intervene, and likely save Ennen's life. Apparently though he was not watchful enough, as Anna was able to slip past and peg Ennen straight in the face with a snowball.

Ennen was completely taken aback and flustered. Then the reality of what just happened hit him. He had been arguing over and education system with supposedly a teenager and she had hit him with a snowball. Something snapped inside him, an emotional dam of supressed tension and fear. He sat and started laughing, he simply could barely get over the ridiculousness of his situation. He sat and laughed and laughed until he could barely breathe his sides were shaking so hard. He wiped his eyes, and glanced up at the pair, they were looking at him like he was a madman, and that set him laughing again. When he finally was able to get a handle of himself, he started to apologize to the shocked couple.

"I'm," *GASP* "I'm sorry, it's just, the situation was so ridiculous, but I shouldn't have laughed like that but, but this has likely been my first interaction with a human being in a year, and just the way it ended up going was so strange and convoluted." He choked out.

"Um…well, thanks I guess" Kristoff responded, nearly convinced he was speaking to a psychopath

"No no no, thank you Anna, you helped me do something I haven't done in a long long time, laugh."


	2. Chapter 2

Entrance.

The sleigh ride passed in a blur, the whole trip devolving into Anna asking monotonous questions until Ennen thought that he would never hear anything but the girl's chirpy voice and it was quite frankly driving him insane. Eventually, he woke from the stupor he had slipped into, and glanced up, and was shocked by the sudden change from snowy forest to urban center pulsing with life. He blinked a couple times as the sleigh came to a slow halt, and he stepped off, his legs wincing at the sudden movement after a while of stillness. He walked up to Kristoff and shook his hand.

"I'd just like to say thanks, I'm much happier here than in that endless forest" He said, shivering in the chill morning air.

"It wasn't a problem, so, do you think you'll be staying in Arendelle?" Kristoff responded, smiling, having gotten over Ennen's previous strangeness.

"Well, judging by this snowfall and how blocked the mountain passes are, I doubt I'll be passing through them any time soon" Responded Ennen who gave a quick glance in the direction of the southern pass.

"Huh" The mountain man responded, "what do you think you'll do in your time here?"

It was something that Ennen hadn't really considered, Ennen had never really been useful for shop keeping jobs, he was surprisingly good at smithing, but hated it. The back of his mind spoke up, _killing, that's what you're good at, might as well keep it up_. Ennen had to learn how to ignore that voice, or stop it somehow, it was constantly reminding of his past wrongs and misdeeds, but then again, it was probably just one of the aspects of being human. But in all reality, joining Arendelle's Guard wasn't a terrible idea, he was a great soldier, and from the looks of it none of Arendelle's blacksmiths were looking for help.

"I guess I'll join the Guard, I don't mind wearing a uniform every now and then, fighting is still fighting." Ennen responded, biting his lip in thought.

Anna walked up beside Kristoff and caught the end of their conversation.

"Oh hey, I could put in a good word with Major Wrenn, he's in charge of the Guard." Anna said, smiling.

"Oh, are you his daughter or related to him?" Ennen said, curiously.

"Oh no, I'm the princess, Princess Anna of Arendelle, my older sister, Elsa is the queen, but if you get to know her shes really nice and playful!" Anna said, excitedly, "Well, except for the time she froze summer and nearly killed me, but that was all an accident!" She said this completely unfazed.

Ennen's eyes widened. He took a step back, hardly believing that the young girl who had smacked him with a snowball just minutes ago was also somehow the Crown Princess of Arendelle. He mumbled out a barely cohesive sentence.

"Oh….well ah-Thanks I guess…" He said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it! See ya around!" She said as she grabbed her boyfriend's arm and pulled him away to a boulevard that led to the castle.

Ennen had to say, most of his interactions with royalty hadn't gone anywhere near that smoothly, he could still remember at least 3 kings that wanted him dead. He sat down on one of the benches heavily, and knuckled his eyes. _I guess looks aren't everything eh Ennen?_ _I definitely like that one, _Artorias said, chuckling at his hosts shock.

The rest of the week went well, Ennen was able to procure a spot in the Arendelle Guard, and found a reputable inn to stay in until he was given an assigned barracks to live in. Apparently he had been accepted into the 49th Kingsguard Battalion and would serve under Staff-Sergeant Scotch, who was known by the men for being a "soldier's officer" or a man who understood and sympathised with the daily plight of the men.

Soon enough a letter came to the inn he was staying in, stating that he was to arrive at the Palace Barracks at 9:00 on Monday of the following week. Ennen keenly looked forward to this, eager to meet his officer and the men he would be staying with. Soldiers liked to drink at the inn that Ennen was staying in, so Ennen got some bits and pieces of information on the group he would be serving with. Apparently the group was a collection of oddballs, all of which were fiercely loyal to the Queen and the country as a whole.

Eventually the day arrived, and Ennen slipped on his freshly purchased cotton clothing and slid his newly sharpened and polished sword into its scabbard which he had also cleaned. It had also become a habit of his to carry more than one knife on his person, it was a mantra that he had drilled into himself, Can never have too many knives. It had saved his life on more than one occasion. He quickly exited the inn and started off down the main boulevard down towards the looming palace, its massive spires soaring into the air with surprising grace from and otherwise hulking structure. As he walked he was surprised by the amount of people who were traveling to and from the castle, and how its gates were perpetually opened, every other castle he had seen in his time were monuments to Kings' paranoia and seclusion from reality, and were locked tighter than the Kings' dead hearts.

He wandered through the massive courtyard, marveling at the fountains and how each of them appeared to be completely frozen, as though someone had placed it in suspended animation. Maybe the whispers of the Queen's talents hadn't been so far from the mark after all. He quickly arrived at small tower, at the base of which sat his garrison where he was to live out the rest of the winter. As he entered the barracks he listened, and he could hear chatter and laughter, and what he assumed to be the strumming of a guitar, something that Ennen faintly remembered being skilled at. _They already seem different than most other soldiers you've bunked with,_ Artorias said in the back of Ennen's mind. Ennen walked up to a front office space where papers were strewn across the desk, notes scribbled everywhere. A muscled and heavily bearded man sat looking away from Ennen, laughing heartily at something happening behind him. He turned, and was surprised to see Ennen standing there, and stood up immediately.

"Aye there lad!" The man said in an incredibly thick Albion accent, "I guess ye are the new guy that's joining up eh?"

"Ah, yes" Responded Ennen, glancing back at the men behind the man.

"Well, I'm Sergeant Scotch, they just call me Scot for short, anyways, ye can leave yer stuff there in the coat area, and we'll get to introductions." Scotch said, gesturing to a room set apart from the sleeping and living quarters.

Ennen quickly put his things away, still carrying his sheathed sword though, along with a set of knives, and met the rest of the men he would be with, they had all come to the front area, sitting. One of them was silently picking at his nails with a knife, the other fiddling annoyed with an arrowhead. There was a positively massive man who was running a sharpening stone along the edge of a broad headed axe that looked like it could easily knock down the gates of Arendelle, given that they were closed. Another man was strumming tunelessly at a guitar, his eyes lost deep in thought.

"Ey lads! Wake up, meet Ennen-uh, Frost, Ennen Frost, a new member, quick, let's get to introductions, I have a certain game to finish with Olav there" Scotch said, gesturing to the man strumming the guitar who had been violently brought back into reality.

"Right, this. Is Ulf Stormeyes," Scotch said, gesturing to the man fiddling with arrowhead, "He don't talk much, and falls asleep constantly" That elicited an indignant response from the man, Ulf.

"The man with the knife and disgusting habit is Torgen Jarlhelm, he don't talk at all, we still don't know why, but that's his business. The big guy is Jens Beornside, strongest bastard in all of the Arendelle Guard." He said, pointing to the massive warrior.

"And the one with the guitar is Olav, he was an adopted orphan who never got a last name, and still doesn't have one, but he apparently is the best drinker in this company, though I daresay he'd be wrong."

Ennen grinned at this comment, he knew for a fact that he could drink the both of them to death, and likely the entire Guard.

"If you don't mind, I'd also like to take him up on that statement, I could see a few flaws with it" Ennen said grinning at the two.

At this, Ulf looked up and grinned widely.

"Oh I like him, he's going to be a load of fun" the rest of the company heartily agreed.

Ennen almost instantly settled into an easy rhythm with the rest of the company, as they drank, practiced, chatted about women, and compared scars. Sergeant Scotch wasn't exactly easy going, but he was easy to associate with and like. He allowed most things in the Barracks, and held a fascinating respect for the Queen, calling her the "Strongest woman in the world" and was clearly extremely patriotic.

Ennen ended the week feeling strangely at home in a place so far from home, maybe staying the winter here wouldn't be so bad. Christ, if he was feeling crazy enough he might just stay. Little did he know, things were conspiring that would tie him to the country, and he would feel even more at home than he ever had anywhere else in the wide world.


	3. Reception

Reception

The day started normally, dark storm clouds hanging over the peaceful city, threatening rain later in the day, but Ennen had never minded the rain. It was strange, he should have hated the rain, it had always hindered him so much in the past, and had brought him face to face with death on numerous occasions, but he still loved the way that the earth seemed to come alive with every rain drop, as it devoured the water. His life had been inked with death, forever stalking him, and being dealt around him or by him, and for something as simple as rain to instill such pulsating life around him was wondrous. He thought, that since he had been forced to work up his courage and bravery so many times while under the cover of rain, from charging an enemy citadel, to slipping past a watchful group of slavers, maybe the rain triggered feelings of courage and bravery. He sat in bed thinking about this for a while, well a sort of bed. He had spent so much of his life traveling that no bed would ever feel comfortable, he hated the down, he hated the designed comfort of the pillows, even though the Arendelle Guard ensured they were practically threadbare. Instead he had stripped his bunk of its mattress and blanket and instead slept on a sleeping roll on top of the wooden planks, almost ensured to give him cramps when he woke. But he had slept in worse places before, and could likely stand sleeping somewhere warm and safe at the cost of some cramps.

Eventually he rolled out his bed, rubbing his eyes as he did so, trying to shake his sleepy demeanor. Last night had been a long night, he had been standing guard on the outer wall of the Palace, overlooking the large boulevard that led straight into the castle courtyard. Olav was supposed to arrive and swap places with him, but a sleepy sergeant informed him that Olav was sick as a dog and was trying to recover, and couldn't take over from Ennen, so he would have to stand guard until Ulf's shift. And so he had waited, occasionally glancing at a massive book he had brought with him from the North. It was one of a series of books called the Epics, massive books that told the history of the North and its mythos. He was reading about Talos, a powerful, yet headstrong warrior who had lead his clan from poverty to riches, and yet ruined them again. It was a foreboding book, each massive page containing hundreds of tiny words written in the Old Tongue, Nordrunic, the ancient language of the Nordish.

As he occasionally glanced down to read a handful of sentences about the foolhardiness of the strong and powerful, he saw something in his periphery. He slowly averted his eyes from the book, and moved his head, careful not to make any sudden movements that could give away his attention to a potential attacker. As he caught sight of what had got his attention, he was suddenly stopped short. It was a…woman, arrayed in light blue, and appeared to be glowing. He dropped all pretenses of stealth and just stared, his eyes wide. The woman had just emerged from the gates, and was headed down the long boulevard. As if he could barely believe his eyes, he could barely make out indistinct singing, this woman was singing?!

_Well, that isn't something you see every day, or night for that matter. _Artorias said, always collected and calm. _Must be the Queen, she does have a reputation for being a people's queen, but this may be taking it a bit far. _

She wandered a bit further, and gazed outwards into the fjord of Arendelle, for a long, long time. After appearing to shake herself out of her reverie, she quickly walked back down the boulevard, and back into the castle.

Suffice to say, Ennen had a fair bit on his mind when he tried to get to sleep, and even a fleeting glimpse of it was hard to come by.

Back in the present, Ennen shook himself out of his stupor, and quickly got changed to his regular clothes, and sat down beside Jens, who had been quietly eating a plate of bread and cheese, along with a tankard of milk. Apparently the Queen was supposed to go on some sort of outing, to give a speech to the people about concerns over war with a neighboring country, Weselton, which had recently been making strange naval and military movements, and was harboring a deep hatred of Arendelle, due to a frosty end to a lucrative trade deal. Ennen had no idea how "frosty" the disagreement had been. Whatever the case, his company had been assigned to a position close on the Queen's flank, a choice which Sergeant Scotch had been very pleased with.

Around 4 hours later, the affair began. Ennen was in full Guard regalia, bearing unfortunately little medals or insignia, but then again he was hardly there to impress the peoples of Arendelle, he was there to serve. His company stood in a tight line outside the gates of the palace awaiting the arrival of the Queen. There was some quiet chatter amongst the ranks, but his company was deathly silent, largely in part due to the sergeant and his demand for absolute silence as the Queen arrived. Then, suddenly, an armored horseman rode out, and following him was the Queen herself. There was no mistaking her, she was the very same woman he had seen last night, arrayed in light blue, her hair positioned in a fascinating bun that Ennen wasn't even going to try to comprehend. As she drew closer, he noticed Jens and Olav shiver, but he didn't feel a thing. Fascinated, he watched her dress as she drew closer, and realized it was made purely of ice crystals, all shimmering in unison. He could have sat down and marveled at it for hours, but he had more important things on his mind, like ensuring that not even a child made it past the guard and to the Queen. He no longer held any doubt over the Queens powers, and it was shocking to see someone wield this sort of power this far south. The North was ripe with magic, as one historian had told him once, magic pools in certain places in the world, very much so in the North, and apparently in Arendelle too. Then she came to a stop and every guard turned their faces towards the end of the boulevard that lead to the castle. Then the march began, their steps were all in line as they approached a fenced off area at the end of the boulevard, where cheering crowds stood. The Queen waved graciously to them, and smiled as children waved and shouted. She occasionally would send puffs of snow over their heads, making miniature snow piles that kids would dive into to play with. Meanwhile, Ennen's soldier mind was working at full speed, calculating routes, predicting movements, analyzing potential threats. He would glance up occasionally, looking for faces in large windows that could provide deadly vantage over the Queen. Around five minutes later, they entered an area that Ennen had been long worried about, it was a tight press of buildings, forcing the guards together, and putting the Queen at risk of an overhead assault. Aware of this, Ennen had his gaze fixed firmly skyward, assessing everything above him.

A minute later as they passed along the stretch of urban street, he heard a yelp from above. Assessing this instantly, he glanced up, and saw something, slipping from a high perched window ledge. A clay pot, likely weighed down with dirt and a plant. He had seconds to act before the Queen got an unexpected facial rearrangement, shouting was of no use, and he couldn't throw anything, nothing else for it. Suddenly he leapt from his position in line, ramming his body against the regal horse of the Queen, forcing it to leap aside and rear up, panicked. He realized there was still a possibility of the pot striking the Queen, so he pushed further, and threw up an arm to strike the clay pot. Suddenly pain tore through his right arm, and everything went dark and muted.

He awoke amongst a scream and shouting as the guards drew themselves in around the Queen, as well as panicked whinnying of the horse. He hardly registered it though, as his right arm was agony, he grunted and tried to kneel, but fell forward. Blackness again.

He awoke in a bed, vision blurry along with his memory. Suddenly everything clicked into place, the pot falling, the Queen. He sat up suddenly, grimacing at the pain that lanced through his arm, and the back of his head ached, likely where he hit his head when he fell after deflecting the pot. He glanced at his arm, and wasn't exactly pleased by what he saw. It was clear that shards of pot had been embedded in his arm, then had been removed, as he had a bandage firmly tied around different sections of his arm. He looked around and saw that he appeared to be in some sort of infirmary, all white, the harshest color being a beige painted on the walls. He lay back down sighing, continuing to dislike the feeling of being in a bed, it just felt so unnatural and inhuman for him. As he lay there, he heard a padding sound, like someone moving across varnished wood in flat shoes. That was when he realized that was exactly what was happening, but since the cot he was in was surrounded by two dividers, he couldn't see a damned thing. That was when the Queen of Arendelle walked into his area of the Infirmary.

Elsa had some apprehensions about visiting the man, but Sergeant Scotch had assured her that he was "A bloody good man, bloody good" which for most people wasn't exactly the most reassuring statement, but coming from Scotch, it meant a lot. Scotch had always been faithful to Arendelle, and had become almost like an uncle to her ever since the Great Thaw. She had long talks about her worries with him, and he always reassured her and supported her. She always smiled inside when she heard him talk, most people tried to cover up their accents, but Scotch simply didn't care and used his native accent with gusto.

As she entered the Infirmary, she heard a sudden ruffling of covers, and then what sounded like someone slumping back into bed. She slowly approached the cot where he was lying, gathering her thoughts and composing herself. _Just thank him, and be done with it, then you can get back to work._ She didn't particularly relish work, but she just didn't really know what to say to people like this guard, what was his name? _Ennen_. She almost took a step back, she had no idea where that thought came from, she had never met this man. Nonetheless, she walked up to his cot, and strode in.

She could have laughed out loud from his expression if the circumstances weren't as serious. He was clearly taken by surprise, and looked positively exhausted, even though he had spent around a day slipping in and out of consciousness.

"Ah-uh, hello your majesty" He said panicked, bowing his head.

"Hello, Ennen was it?" Elsa responded, looking at his heavily bandaged arm.

"Yes…um, begging your pardon, how long have I been asleep?" He asked earnestly.

"Around a day, how have you been feeling?" Elsa asked.

"Hm." Responded Ennen "Well, I've been better, I appear to have gotten an unexpected arm decoration, and I'm in a bed" He said, smiling wanly.

"What? Why is the bed a problem?" She said, giving him a quizzical look.

"Nah, well you see, I'm normally not the type to live in one place for a while, uh" He paused "So normally I'm just sleeping in a bed roll on the ground, so beds are rather foreign to me." He responded, shifting his weight awkwardly in the bed.

"Really?" She said, then cursing herself in her head, she wanted this to be over quickly, not to learn his life story.

"Well, when you spend your life living by your sword you aren't too trusting of most people anyways." He said grimacing.

This was all ringing a bell in Elsa's head, and she was searching for what was setting it off. Then suddenly it clicked, this was the man that Kristoff and Anna had met and picked up.

"I think you may have met my sister!" Elsa exclaimed, again hating herself for getting drawn in to a full-blown conversation with this man.

"The spritely red-head?" Ennen wondered aloud.

"Yes!"

"Ah, yeah, she is quite something isn't she" As he said this his eyes began to glaze over.

"She talked you ears off didn't she?"

"And then some" Ennen smartly quipped

At this Elsa laughed out loud. Screw not having a conversation, she was warming up to this stranger.


	4. Action

Action.

Ennen had spent a good hour and a half just chatting with the Queen. He knew it was probably unseemly for a person of his stature to spend so much time talking with a lady of her rank, but he was simply entranced by her. Most men would remark upon her grace and serenity, her delicate beauty. Ennen saw something different, he saw something that he had heard in ancient Nordish stories, tales of great and powerful goddesses, who wielded immense power over the seasons. It was said that no man could withstand their wild beauty, and that out of thousands upon thousands of suitors, both deities and mortal, sought her out, and they refused each one. It was spoken that when they did marry, they married simple honest men, not great boisterous lords of great lands. Try as he might, he simply couldn't shake this from his mind, every one of her words further affirming his stray thoughts.

He felt an almost palpable emptiness in him when she left, something that he hadn't felt in a long, long time. The feeling of saying goodbye to a friend, knowing you might not have their company for a long time, weeks or more. _A friend? _He wondered to himself, _she is a Queen, she likely has great and handsome men asking for her hand, she doesn't have time for those like you_. Nonetheless, the hopeful part of his mind wandered, exploring futures and possibilities.

Suffice it to say, Ennen had a lonely week, his company busy doing drills and standing guard, but they did visit when they could. On Sunday of that week, Ennen was well and truly sick of lying in his damned bed, so when Ulf visited briefly, he gave him a strange request.

"Ale? You want ale." Ulf said, curious at Ennen's request.

"Uh yes, I really would appreciate it" Ennen responded, feeling very awkward.

"Don't know how that helps you, but sure I guess it's the small things." Ulf said, walking off to his shift at guard.

The next morning, Ennen woke up to a bottle of rum at his bedside table, fortunately, Ulf had gotten a brew of a suitably strong variety. Ennen grabbed it, and took a long swig from it, barely blinking at the burning liquid pouring down his throat. His arm instantly began to feel better, as the rum began moving through his system, doing its work. The Nordish have a strange ability when it comes to alcohol, some Nordish have the capacity to heal any surface wounds done to them, for example cuts or battle wounds. Ennen had possessed this ability for a long time, and it had helped him more times than he could remember, helping him shrug off wounds that would leave some men bedridden for weeks. This was crucial to a man who spent most of his time moving around, and so he normally kept a bottle of ale on him.

Over the next week Ennen felt much better, and was soon back in fighting form, and began to start doing drills and standing guard with the rest of his company. Scotch was rather surprised by Ennen's sudden recovery, he had seen men like him bedridden for months, or even permanently crippled by the wounds Ennen had sustained, but he just shrugged them off and kept going. Scotch kept it to himself though, glad that the kid was alright and that he had gotten him back so quickly, it meant shorter guard times for everyone, and that kept everyone happy, which was always good. Fortunately, the Queen didn't have anything that would require a full on guard presence equal to that of earlier. However, the Princess Anna constantly insisted on going shopping deep in Arendelle's markets, something that Scotch had always worried about, but he was still fairly faithful in Kristoff's ability to protect her. All in all, everything seemed to be calm and it appeared that the rest of the month would be smooth sailing.

Later that week, the Queen received some distressing news from Arendelle's naval forces. Apparently, one of their patrol vessels had gone missing, in areas near where there had been reports of military activity from Weselton, which could herald even worse news, war. Ennen had been recently informed of all this, and had to admit it was worrying. He had grown fond of this quaint city, and would rather not see it ravaged by war, he had seen that happen too many times before. The Queen had ordered that all military units near or inside of Arendelle double security measures and increase patrols, just in case this was a build up to something more. Fortunately, it seemed that maybe the patrol vessel had crashed, and no vessels of Weselton were seen near Arendellian waters. Ennen hoped that maybe the sudden increase of visible forces deterred the ambitious Duke of Weselton, but that was all Ennen could really do, hope and stand guard.

Next week, he awoke in the late morning, due to another long night of standing watch over the Palace gates, and looking out into the inky blackness of the fjord. He went about his regular daily tasks, sharpening his sword, cleaning his uniform, and writing down anything unusual he saw last night, or recently. He had nothing of interest really, it seemed that the invasion that city dwellers had whispered about would simply never come. That was when he heard shouting, and Sergeant Scotch burst into the room where Ennen sat, running a rag down the keen edge of his sword.

"Lad! Get yer uniform on, we're going for a stroll!" He said exuberantly, grabbing his large broadsword, his weapon of choice.

"Why? Is Weselton here?" Responded Ennen, sitting up suddenly, grabbing his things.

"No, that patrol ship returned, apparently from some 'ell of a storm, and the Queen herself wants to make an appearance down at the docks!" Scotch said, adjusting his sword on his belt.

Soon, both men were fully dressed and ready for action, and quickly strode out of the barracks. Scotch led him deep through the castle's myriad of hallways and massive rooms on the way to the Queen's chambers. Suddenly, they appeared in front of a large set of two white doors, with a large blue snowflake painted across them. Scotch knocked heavily on the door, announcing his and Ennen's presence, and she quickly emerged from her room. Ennen always couldn't stop himself from blinking when he saw the Queen, she was just so…ethereal almost. She smiled at Scotch and Ennen, who inclined his head towards her. She appeared to collect herself, and said  
"Alright, let's go."

Ennen's curiosity had already been piqued when he heard about the circumstances of the ship's return, apparently, they had been travelling through the Trystland Archipelago, and they were struck by a storm. Ennen knew for a fact that countless vessels had become lost and had sank in that maze of islands, and was very surprised that the ship had avoided being smashed on the rocks of the archipelago and also somehow making it back to Arendelle. He had been in his fair share of storms, and knew that they would confuse even the most expert navigators, and doubted the ability of a simple patrol ship to return from that maze.

Their trip to the docks was quick, as it was basically a quick walk from the gates, and the docks lay right outside the boulevard that lead to the palace. Upon seeing the boat, a rather small and extremely raggedy ship, he could have been convinced, but upon further inspection he realized all was not right with this boat. There were large gouges in the side of the ship, which could be explained by striking rocks, but, if the boat had struck a rock, it wouldn't have made it back to Arendelle, it would be driven by the storm onto the rocks. Also the sail was suspiciously pockmarked with holes, and Ennen knew that water couldn't break the sturdy material that the sails were made of. To add to that, he could see a fair amount of weapons and items on the deck, if the ship had been struck by weather devastating enough to rip holes in the canvas, any item on the deck would surely have been swept off by the ocean, but sure enough there was plenty lying on the deck.

"Sarge, I don't like this." Ennen had leaned over to Scotch and whispered his concerns, as the Queen met the sailors and shook hands with them and mingled.

"What is it?" the sergeant responded.

"I've been through storms before, and this isn't what a boat looks like after" he said as he aired everything that he thought looked wrong.

"And also" Ennen said, wrapping up his statement "Look at the sailors, they are certainly peppy enough, after a storm, you aren't peppy, you're wooden, absolutely exhausted and in pain all over, and would kill for something to eat, but these men look fine. Another thing, look at the way they walk, they walking easily on solid ground, most sailors, especially ones returning from storms have an incredibly awkward time walking on a surface that isn't constantly shifting, but these men have adapted instantly, suggesting they weren't on for a very long trip."

Scotch nodded at all of this, not entirely sure what to do.

"Alright, let's watch closely, and make sure nothing funny happens, I'll take right, you take left, yeah?"

"Yeah"

As Ennen stood watching suspiciously at the men who were talking easily with the Queen, he caught a glimpse of something, behind one of the men. A barrel, labeled, DO NOT DISTURB, CONTENTS EXPLOSIVE/FLAMMABLE sat near the edge of the boat. That wasn't right, why would a simple patrol boat carry an explosive barrel? This was looking more and more like an assassination attempt rather than a home-coming party. Ennen surreptitiously loosened his sword in its scabbard, looking for someone who could potentially light the barrel and blast them to kingdom come. That was when he noticed a small rowboat quietly approaching while Ennen and Scotch scanned the boat.

Suddenly, everything appeared to slow down. A flare of some sort was thrown onto the deck, heading straight for the barrel. Ennen lunged and caught it in his hand, and turned to see a man boot him in the chest.

"Off the boat!" he screamed as he fell.

The flare fell near the barrel, catching a piece of dried rope that served as a light for the barrel's deadly cargo.

He saw Scotch grab the Queen and dive overboard, a move that would shield them from any sort of blast. Then Ennen quickly rolled and stood up, assessing the situation. A group of men, equipped with swords and maces stood in front of him, growling as they approached. Most men would whimper at the sight of what was surely death approaching. Not Ennen, his eyes suddenly flared with a wolfish glare. His mind spoke up, _Its killing time._

A man stepped forward, his mace swinging heavily towards him, but Ennen was there first, parrying the blow, and suddenly flicking his sword across the man's throat, spraying blood as the man died. Another man came, roaring, stepping over his comrade. He was wielding a heavy broadsword, and was carving a great arc with it, aiming straight for Ennen's torso. Ennen went low and whipped a knife from his boot. Suddenly drawing himself close to the man, he smacked the broadsword away, and his knife went up into the man's ribcage, and he went down gurgling. A yell from behind him, he whirled, and let the knife fly from his hand, it caught his next assailant in the throat, killing him instantly. He saw another man lunge with a short sword, Ennen kicked out his knee and stomped the man's throat. As another man slowly advanced with an axe, Ennen darted forwarded, and his sword slipped into the man's axe arm, and came out just as quick, and took off the man's head. Then he remembered the barrel. He grabbed one of his potential attackers by the scruff of his neck and jumped off the boat, using the man as a landing pad for the cold cobbles below.

_WRUNCH! _They landed with a sickening thud, and Ennen rolled off the man, and threw himself behind a wagon that had been left in the street as the boat violently exploded.

His hearing had become muted, and everything he could see was tinted violently red. He gasped and blinked, trying to orient himself. He was crawling out from underneath the wagon that had been flipped onto him, fortunately it only contained hay. At this point he was moving purely out of animal survival instinct, rather than coherent thought. He coughed violently, and turned around, searching the water for a sign of the Queen or the Sergeant. That was when he saw a path of ice leading from the middle of the fjord into the bay. He shook his head, marveling at the creation, but then he realized that he had better stop daydreaming, or his old friend death might finally catch him. He heaved himself to his feet, and saw 2 soaked figures walking down the main street of Arendelle, one clad in an icy blue, the other in guard regalia. _Thank God_.

"ENNEN! LAD!" The Sergeant shouted as he caught sight of Ennen's disheveled form, "Jaysus Christ lad! Are y'alright?"

Coughing violently, Ennen stuttered out an answer. "Yes sir, never better" Another fit of coughs.

"Right then lad, you stay here, I'm getting the rest of the guard, look after the Queen eh?" He half-shouted, and ran off.

He nodded to the Queen, she seemed to have escaped the blast unscathed. She looked positively breathless, panting heavily. Ennen could see the beginnings of a panic attack on her face, something that wouldn't be healthy for anyone considering her powers. He lightly tapped her shoulder, bringing her into focus.

"Mi'lady, look at me, you are alright. You hear me? Everything is fine, you haven't even spilled a drop of blood, so stay with me and you'll be fine eh?" He said, holding her shoulder and looking deeply into her eyes.

"Oh my god" She muttered softly to herself, over and over. He wasn't getting through to her, he didn't like what he was about to do, but he'd rather not end up an icicle.

*slap* He struck her across her face lightly, she recoiled instantly in shock, staring at him, mortified.

"Mi'lday. Look at me, you are absolutely fine, those sonsabitches are dead, and you will be fine do you understand me?" He said, his eyes steely.

"Sir! I…I…I…" She stuttered, not knowing what to say.

"Sorry about that miss, had to be done" He could see her eyes glazing over in fear, so he grabbed her hands and shook her.

"Stay with me! You and I are going to make it through this, we are not going to die, and everything will be fine" He said, slowly beginning to feel his hands ice over. Oh well. 

She suddenly burst out in sobs and gasps.

"Oh my god! Oh my god, I could have been dead-!"

"But you aren't, and we're safe, focus"

"What if they're still around, what if they-!"

"What-ifs don't help anyone, and they especially aren't helping me!" He responded angrily, feeling his hands lose all sensation, a snowflake patter blossoming across them.

The Queen looked down and gasped at his nearly frozen hands, and retracted hers, he hadn't even yelped at what must have been incredible pain surging through his hands.

That was when he heard a shout, and whirled, fully expecting the Arendelle Guard to come charging around the corner. Instead he was greeted by a much more frightening sight, a group of men, armed to the teeth with swords and armaments. It appeared Weselton really wanted to ensure the Queen died, but they chose the wrong guard to trifle with.

He pushed the Queen aside, and took out his sword suddenly, backing up as one of the men stepped forwards, grinning. Suddenly, that glare returned to Ennen's eyes.

Elsa wasn't entirely sure of what she saw, but she remembered a man approaching the guard, Ennen, and suddenly Ennen's sword was there and the guard changed into a different man. He became a whirlwind of steel, his sword flashing as it cut the man's throat open, then went low and gutted another. It took a man's shin, then his chest as he went down. He rolled over top a charging attacker, and brought his sword down on a man behind him, before rebounding off a wall to drive his sword into another. He was a killing machine, the sword simply an extension of his body. It all unfolded in a sort of graceful brutality, blood spraying and shouts of agony reverberating across the area. She watched entranced at this deadly dance he played with the attackers. She saw them hit him, but he shrugged it off, and simply killed the person who had struck him. She was both mortified and entranced.

As much as Ennen was winning in the fight, he still didn't like it at all, he was surrounded, and would eventually falter, and they would land a killing blow. He was determined to end I t before then, he a trick up his sleeve, but it didn't seem worth it. That was before an axe took a piece of his back leg, he wasn't entirely willing to die today, he simply didn't feel it.

He stepped back from the fray, and focused his angry thoughts into a pinpoint of rage and emotion. He snapped his fingers and let hell break loose

Out of that fight, Elsa remembers one thing with distinct clarity, Ennen snapping his fingers, and suddenly a spark flew from them, then more erupted from it, becoming a wave of fire that enveloped his assailants. Their screams could be scarcely be heard over the thunderous _wooosh _of the fire, but they persisted nonetheless.

It all ended in a heartbeat though, leaving only charred corpses remaining, along with a scent that reminded her disturbingly of the grittier alleys of Arendelle. Ennen stumbled over to her, and lent his hand to her, and she saw how visibly tired he was, and she saw in his eyes that he wasn't only tired physically, but also emotionally exhausted. He was tired of killing, tired of how often he had to do it, and with the passion that he found himself doing it with. She vaguely remembers stumbling back to the palace with him, until she collapsed, wherein he picked her up fireman style and carried her into the castle. Waiting there was an absolutely terrified Anna who was just barely being held back by Sergeant Scotch. She screamed with elation at the sight of her sister.

"ELSA! OH MY GOD ELSA, YOU SCARED ME SO MUCH, WHAT HAPPEN-Elsa!" She stopped after Ennen set her down, she was well enough to walk on her own now, though there was a large patch of blood on her dress.

"Elsa…is that yours" Anna asked horrified.

Elsa shook her head.

Anna, Elsa and Scotch looked at Ennen.

"I guess they nicked me" He muttered, a tired smile on his scarred features.

And with that he collapsed.


	5. Hopes and Dreams

Other Story Chapter 5

Something inside his body stirred, pulsing. He had been lying there, life slowly seeping out of him, when it started. Elsa watched entranced as he suddenly regained life, clawing it back into him, fighting for every breath and heartbeat. It was both frightening and fascinating, this sudden vicious return to life.

"Doctor! Something's happening!" Elsa shouted, and a white robed man strode over to Ennen's prone form on the bed.

"My…" was all the doctor could muster at what was happening.

He immediately started administering a cool cloth to his forehead, and sat and thought, looking at Ennen every so often.

"Well," he appeared to come to a conclusion, "I don't really know what to do in this situation to be honest. All I can really say is that he certainly isn't easy to kill, and for the time being we simply have to wait and see what his body does from here." He said, grabbing his bag that he had come in with, and promptly left, scratching his head, in slight shock, and in pain from the misfortunate placing of a medical cabinet door earlier that day.

Elsa sat there, watching her savior slowly crawl his way back into the world of the living. She didn't remember much of the fight, mostly Ennen incinerating her assailants, and the flashes of steel when Ennen ended a life. She remembered his eyes when he picked her up, tired and mournful, and his closing remark when he collapsed. She couldn't come up with a credible reason for sitting at his bedside other than for answers, to learn about his power, and if he was like her. She had always felt so isolated, like a barrier had been between her and others, to think that someone had maybe also struggled against that barrier as well was world-changing for her.

Meanwhile, for Ennen, returning from death itself was less than glamorous. All he could hear was screeching, ear-rending screeching that was keeping him awake, and the feeling that something had lodged itself in his chest and he was hanging from it. He gasped, and looked around, and found that rather startlingly he couldn't see anything, his eyes were closed, even though he was willing them to open. It was honestly terrifying, the thought of seeing nothing again, to stay in eternal darkness. Then he began to feel in his eyes, and the first thing he felt was pain. Now, not only his ears screamed in pain, so did his eyes as he slowly crawled back to life. Feeling came back all over his body, all pain, all pain. But he was coming back, slowly and painfully, but damn sure enough he was coming back.

"HHHhhhraAAAArRRRGH!" Ennen suddenly screamed, as he bolted upright, pure agony coursing through him, as he flailed desperately.

_I guess you have to know pain to know health…_ Artorias mumbled, being only slightly affected by Ennen's pain.

Elsa jumped back, standing up and knocking over her chair, as Ennen violently came back to life, screaming. She stood there watching, as his screams began to die down into gasps of agony. Not knowing what really to do, Elsa stepped away from his writhing form. He slowly got better, now only panting, and gasping some more.

"Hkkk…." He gasped, desperate for water, his parched throat clawing at him.

"W-W….." He said, an arm flailing helplessly off the bed.

"Water" He finally said, agonizingly slowly, desperate for any way to quench his agonizing thirst.

Elsa, realizing his predicament, created a miniature flurry above him to keep him cooled, and grabbed a pitcher of water, and realized he wouldn't be able to drink on his own in his current state. She slowly tipped pitcher over top his yawning mouth, breathing desperately.

The water was heaven, he choked on it slightly, but still gulped down mouthfuls as his body recuperated. Eventually, his thirst was quenched and he could breathe properly again. His eyes slowly took in his surroundings, eventually alighting on Elsa's concerned face. A lot of emotions went through his head then and there, but he was only able to stutter out a handful of words.

"Guess we're even…eh?" He mumbled, feeling sleep overcoming him.

He awoke a couple hours later, to find the Queen sitting as his bedside still, flipping through a large leather-wrapped book, not really reading it, but just turning the pages absent mindedly. Ennen slowly realized it was _his _book, the Epic. He wondered where she had found it, but dismissed it, when she looked at him, realizing he was awake.

"Ah, hello Ennen" She said, smiling.

_First name basis eh? _Artorias interjected.

"Mmm….S'ry hello" Ennen mumbled drowsily, and looked down, realizing he was in yet another bed.

"I guess, you're still waking up, sorry to pressure you I guess" She said, again smiling at his sleepy demeanor.

That was when Ennen realized he was talking to the Queen.

"Ah! Oh, sorry, sorry mi'lday I wasn't paying attention, a-are you alright?" He stuttered out, bolting upright, wide awake.

Elsa had to stifle a giggle at his sudden reaction, but then steeled herself, she had questions that needed answering.

"I'm quite alright, thanks in no small part to you and the Sergeant, a better question is whether you are alright?" She asked, curiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I barely got nicked" He said, rubbing his eyes desperately.

"That's why you fell unconscious for two days?" Responded Elsa smirking.

"Oh yeah that" Responded Ennen, at a loss "Uh...Allergies, allergies did it" He said quickly, smiling.

"It's the middle of winter, what could you possibly have an allergy towards?" Elsa responded chuckling. She always enjoyed her little back-and-forths with Anna, but this was like another level of difficulty.

"Explosions, they really get my sinuses worked up" Ennen responded, lying back in his bed, looking rather uncomfortable.

Elsa had no real response or that, and simply rolled her eyes. That's when she was reminded of the fact that this man had saved her life around 3 times now, and had killed more men than she could count, yet she was sharing a pleasant moment with him.

The same thing appeared to occur to Ennen, as he stalled, and realizations returned to him.

"Well," He said quietly "I guess you want to know about back there…"

"Um, yes, from the beginning" Elsa said, commandingly.

"The fire I'm assuming…well" He mumbled, no clue where to begin.

"Were you born with it? How do you control it?" Elsa suddenly began pelting him with questions as to the nature of his powers, "What is it like? Are there any other people like you?"

"Elsa-"He interrupted, suddenly "uh, I don't really know how to say this, but I don't think our powers our very similar."

"Well yeah, fire and ice"

"No, more than that. You see..." Ennen stopped, not really sure how to begin his statement, "Well you see, magic, or whatever they call it, is different across the world. It pools in certain places, and those places will be gifted with people who can manipulate some of the lesser elements, normally not much more than that. Apparently Arendelle possesses some magic that helped to give you your powers, but in the North, magic is much more common. Your everyday man can manipulate it, given about a lifetime of practice and some old books. They classify magic, under great tomes that tell of magic's origin and purpose. They classify magics into Elemental, Adept and Ethereal. There are different sects of each type of magic, such as combat, climate and agriculture. What I used is an advanced form of fire combat magic, something common in the north."

Elsa was shocked by the sudden tirade of information from Ennen, she didn't really know how to feel. She was saddened slightly that she wasn't like Ennen in the way her powers were with her from birth, but still ecstatic that there were others in the world like her. She wondered if they went through the same things she had, and suddenly found herself with even more questions.

"What are the other two classifications of magic, Adept and Ethereal?" Elsa asked.

Ennen sighed heavily, realizing this might be a long teaching session.

2 weeks later he was still incapacitated from his wounds and had to remain in bed, even accounting for the remedial effects of ale on his damaged body. He had more discussions with Elsa, some just pleasant conversations when she came to check on his conditions, other times she sought knowledge about magic and the North as a whole. He told stories that had been told to him many years ago, passed down dutifully through word of tongue. The Nordish were very strict in this, ensuring that every detail of a story was memorized so that it would never become diluted or change every time it was told. He told her of his own travels, and his time under a Seawolf raiding ship that stalked coastal establishments and plucked away merchant vessels from the sea. At first she was startled to find that he had been a pirate, yet she still owed him so much, and he clearly had changed. Besides, the Nordish never struck at Arendelle, out of some deep seated fear of the land. He told her of a land he passed through while serving with the seawolf crew, a land of dust and death, where a mad king gave speeches to empty plazas and the plague that was carried on its wind. He said that there was legend amongst the peoples of that stricken land that there had been a young princess, ready to take the throne, alongside a dashing prince, but they had disappeared suddenly, driving the king into a fit of madness, killing his wife and declaring war on his own people. She told him of the coronation, her flight from Arendelle, her sister's crusade to return the land to summer, and the treachery of a man known as Hans, from the Southern Isles. He slowly recuperated, reading excerpts of the Epic to himself and occasionally to Elsa if she asked.

Ennen was eager to return to service, but his wounds restricted him from anything too arduous, so he started serving guard shifts, his discussions the Queen severed again. Though he buried the feeling within him, he missed her company, her laugh and her wonder at his tales. Unbeknownst to him, she felt exactly the same, Anna, Kristoff and Scotch were almost like family and she knew them so well already, Ennen was just so fascinating to her, and she had been so isolated most of her life, she was always desperate for company, but it's hard to find reliable friends when you have a deadly ability. But she too buried her pangs of emotion within her, like she had learned to do so many agonizing years before.

Eventually Ennen was able to walk comfortably, and had a reasonable degree of movement, and so could again help escort the Queen and do other tasks necessary of a member of the Guard. He was quickly accepted back into his company, the others were welcome more rest and shorter guard shifts. Scotch was happy that things had turned out the way they had, if Ennen hadn't been as watchful, he and Elsa could be six feet under right now. One thing still nagged at his mind though, Anna's continued trips into the depths of Arendelle's market, and though nothing was likely to happen, as one of the guardians of Arendelle, it was his duty to worry. Realizing that Ennen had skipped quite a few drills and practice sessions, he decided in order to quell his fears and give Ennen some more focus he would have him escort her through the markets. He knew she wouldn't be ecstatic about it, but Ennen was flexible if nothing else, and would give her plenty of space, he knew it.

And so Ennen found himself strapping his knives back into their normal hiding places, his boot, hip, shoulder, chest and belt. As he prepared, he ran through a couple of potential scenarios that could occur, she could get grabbed, she could be pickpocketed, or maybe straight up knifed, though that was unlikely. He knew that the people loved their queen and princess, but there is always the possibility of a bad apple, and Anna was always so comfortable with people that it would be hard to tell that she was a princess. Ennen had certainly been fooled upon first meeting her.

He met her just outside of Arendelle' gates, she was incredibly hyper as well, almost like the world moved at a much faster speed for her than anyone else.

"Hi Ennen! Are you feeling better?" Anna asked, looking him up and down.

"I've been worse, you?" Ennen responded, brushing snow off his shoulders.

"Never better! Shame Kristoff isn't here, you guys could totally have a guy's day out!" Anna said, her eyes glazing over at the thought.

"I don't really know if we have similar preferences, style-wise" Ennen responded.

"Well, I haven't seen you in anything other than a fur coat, guard suit and in bandages, and that's pretty much Kristoff's outfit! Well, except for the guard and bandage outfit." Anna rambled on.

"I hardly think bandages are an outfit"

"You seem to wear them quite often so who knows?" She suddenly started off, leaving Ennen to catch up with her.

What Ennen had originally thought of as an escort, turned into an interrogation, directed at him.

"Soooo, where are you from again?" Anna asked, suddenly turning and looking at him, while walking backwards.

"The North, I guess" Ennen responded, unsurely.

"Not a very good name, don't they have others?"

"Probably over 20 in the Old Tongue"

"What's the old tongue?"

"An old Northern language that is used commonly there."

"Cool. What is it like there, is it nice? Or is it like some arctic wasteland?"

"In my opinion it's the most beautiful place in the world. Nothing is quite like watching the sunrise over snow-capped mountain peaks in massive pine valleys"

"Sounds like Arendelle actually"

"That's what I thought when I came here, it's like a civilised version of the North."

"What is it like in the North?" Anna asked, eagerly.

"Chaos, war and feuds. There is a reason I left."

"Oh. Hey, look! Over there, that's Emir, he's a spice merchant!" Anna said excitedly, "Sometimes he sells silks and things like that! Let's go see!" Anna suddenly raced off.

Ennen was sheepishly reminded of the fact that he used to raid ships full of spice and silk, it was rather strange that he would now be buying from one. Ennen stood politely back while Anna talked with the man. He looked deep into the crowd, for once not searching for threats, but rather revelling in the systematic chaos of it all. People were heckling, shouting and racing around, he had been to markets before, but never this in-depth. He noticed around 2 guards milling about aimlessly. He smiled, in awe, a feeling of hope and happiness manifesting itself inside him. _Here, here is where I think I've been searching for._ He turned to look at Anna, who had just turned around, and almost knocked her over.

"Oof!" Anna yelped as Ennen carelessly bumped into her.

"Ah!" Ennen gulped, and caught her as she fell, heaving her back onto her feet.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention at all mi 'lady!" Ennen said, completely flustered and furious with himself.

"Ah don't worry about it, I'm a massive klutz, so I know the feeling of tripping into people." Anna responded giggling.

They walked off, Ennen following, his face red with embarrassment. But aside from all that, he was genuinely happy, he had been on the run for so long, this place was so welcoming. Maybe, just maybe he could stay. Ennen was snapped back into reality when 2 guards nearby the princess saluted smartly. Stopping, the princess meandered over to them, and started talking to them. Welcoming indeed.

Meanwhile, Elsa was in her room, nervously pacing back and forth, trying to come to a decision. She had just come back from a meeting with her council over the attacks, and their relation to Weselton. One of the councillors had humbly suggested that she have a personal guard, rather than multiple distant guards, and the others heartily agreed. She hadn't really known how to respond, she understood their worry, but having a bodyguard just felt so…debilitating. She sighed and reluctantly sat down on her bed, her head in her hands. Her mind began to drift, wondering about the world, the wonders it held. She had always wanted to go exploring, but being a queen had always limited it severely. Suddenly, the door flew open and Anna burst in, catching Elsa off guard, as usual.

"Hi Elsa! What are you doing?" Anna said, sitting down next to Elsa on the bed.

"Nothing really, I've just been thinking." Elsa responded, smiling at her sister.

"Huh, Yeah, I think Ennen is in love" Anna said as she flopped back onto the bed.

That resonated in Elsa's mind.

"With who?" She said, a little quickly.

"Oh wouldn't you like to know?" She giggled.

"Why Anna, what are you proposing!" Elsa responded, looking very queenly.

Anna burst out laughing, she could never take Elsa seriously with that face.

"What is it?" Elsa responded, annoyed now.

"The face you make, when you get all commanding, I can't stand it!" Anna giggled, "Anyways, I think he's in love with Arendelle" She said, sitting up again.

"How do you mean?" Elsa asked, curious.

"Well, I was at a merchant, and he was just staring off into the crowds, and there was this contented look on his face. And then, I turned around, and he had turned around, and almost knocked me over! He was obviously completely occupied with something else."

Elsa did find it slightly hard to believe that the man who had displayed such masterful sword skills and reflexes might just stride straight into Anna.

"And earlier, I had been talking to him about where he was from, and he was talking about how it was the most beautiful place on earth, and I said it sounded like Arendelle, and he just said 'yeah' and spaced out" Anna continued.

"Hm" Elsa responded blankly.

"Well, I have to go, Kristoff is going to be back soon, bye!" And with that Anna was gone.

Elsa shook her head, smiling. Then the issue of the bodyguard popped back into her head, and she suddenly realized, she had a great idea for a candidate.


	6. Things Can Always Get Worse

Other Story Chapter 6

"_Have you forgotten who we are? What we fight for!' Gunther roared._

"_I joined with you to help them! Not to serve your madness!" Lille shouted in disgust, his spear planted firmly in the snow beside him._

"_Damn your thick skull Lille, they were beyond helping, they supported the Oberjarl!" Gunther bellowed back._

"_They were still people goddammit! Things aren't black and white the way you think they are!" Lille screamed._

_Gunther's voice lowered. _

"_You're afraid, aren't you? You aren't enough of man to understand necessary losses!"_

_Ennen stepped, forward, standing behind Gunther._

"_A true man understands how to hold himself back from ending a life." Ennen repeated, a line from one of the Epics._

"_Oh! The voice of clarity and purity itself! The damn sell-sword, who kills more people in a day than I could hope to in a lifetime!" Gunther rounded on Ennen_

"_You've killed enough Gunther" Lille spat._

"_Because the Oberjarl has stuck his damn roots into every feeble mind in this land, most of all yours!" Gunther roared._

"_There is a difference between resistance and mass murder Gunther! There's a reason you were banished, hell, shoulda stayed that way!" Lille returned, consumed with rage._

_Ennen realized what was going to happen, and began to draw his sword. Gunther stepped forward, pulling out a knife, Lille reaching for his spear. Suddenly, Ennen felt something knock out his knees, he fell forward onto the snow. Revan, one of Gunther's henchmen was holding him down, his axe at the back of Ennen's head._

"_Don't move, or I'll give your thick skull some air" Revan whispered in his nasally voice._

_At this point, Gunther had Lille by the scruff of his neck, his knife lowered at his belly._

"_Wanna say something Lille? Something to get off your chest?" Gunther spat into Lille's face._

"_Fuck you!"_

_Gunther's knife went straight into Lille, and came out, over and over again as the young man fell. Ennen could hear his screams, but they didn't register, all he could feel was rage. Then Gunther turned to look at him, his horrific work done._

"_Anything else?"_

Ennen gasped as those eyes drilled into his skull, shaking the grip of the nightmare. No matter how far he ran, those eyes still followed him, and would dog him to his grave. He remembered the blind rage, he remembered killing Revan with his bare hands, and holding the dying Lille in his arms. He still had his ashes, he wouldn't forget him, he was the only person he had ever known who stood up for others and made his own way in life.

He ran his hand up his left arm, and near the shoulder felt the shards, broken splinters of a sword that Lille had stopped. He refused to remove them, every one of his scars mattered to him, lessons of battles won and lost. Those shards were a defeat.

Ever since that had happened, he had vowed to never return and partake in the North's bloodshed and horror, the senseless brutality and evil. He left out of sadness, desperation and fear. He couldn't live like that anymore, he told himself. After all that though, he couldn't cry, he couldn't lose one tear over the life taken from him, and brothers lost. Sleep never came easy to Ennen, nightmares always dogged him, but tonight, the only sleep he could hope for was the automatic sort of sleep that comes out of necessity rather than actual sleepiness.

Later that day, Ennen had just finished sharpening his sword after drilling with it, and had returned to his bunk in the barracks. On his bunk lay a solitary note, pristinely white against the darker sheets. He picked it up and slit it open, fumbling to pull the paper out of the envelope.

_Mr. Ennen Frost._

It began, and Ennen was more than surprised as he read on.

_You're exemplary skills in action and dedication to the protection of the Queen, as well as a personal connection to the Queen has led the Royal Guard of Arendelle to decide that you are the best suited to act as the Queen's personal guard for the time being._

Positively shocked, Ennen read through the rest of the letter, most of it detailing times and dress code. Apparently, he had to meet with the Queen at around 3:00 today. He apparently had also received new clothing, which was underneath his bed. Sure enough, underneath his bed lay a newer, slightly different version of the regular guard uniform. Pride surged through him at the sight of it, this guard idea had been a good one after all.

Since it was close to 3:00 Ennen quickly changed, feeling slightly awkward in the stiffness of the new outfit, yet very proud. The uniform had a strange sliding plate that protected the lower part of his face, and gave him more of a threatening look, rather than practical safety, but he would allow it. Finished admiring the handiwork of the tailor, far surpassing that of anything in the North, he left the barracks and started through the castle, toward the Royal Chapel, where the Queen had been coroneted, and where many kings and queens had been married.

He arrived shortly, and looked around the room. It was dead silent, not a soul to be heard or seen, but he was early, so that could explain it. Still, he didn't exactly enjoy the eerie silence of the place, like he had disturbed some ancient tomb. He stood at the door, breathing in its aged smell, the old wood and carpets.

"Oh-Hello" A soft voice sheared through Ennen's distracted thoughts.

Ennen turned quickly to see the Queen, wearing a formal dress, and looking stunning, though usually she left that impression on Ennen anyways.

"Milady" He said, inclining his head towards her, surprised that he had formed coherent words.

"Ennen, I think we are past the point where we address each other by titles." Elsa said, smiling, an eyebrow raised sarcastically.

"Ah, well hello in that case" He said, smiling, "By the way, you could probably tell, but it appears I received a promotion, and was invited here, yet no one is here."

"Oh, really?" Elsa said, looking slightly concerned.

"Unless my eyes greatly deceive me, no." Ennen, taking another glance into the Chapel, just to be sure.

"I don't believe they do" Elsa said, glancing into the room as well, "I'll ask for Kai, maybe there was a change, though I don't really see why." Elsa looked perplexed.

"Follow me" She muttered absent-mindedly and gestured for Ennen to follow.

For a while they walked through the castle seemingly endless corridors upon corridors that Ennen was beginning to understand, slowly but surely. Elsa stopped suddenly at one point, as though she were expecting something or someone to be there, but no one was.

"Strange" She muttered under her breath.

They continued down a hallway and came to a set of stairs, which they quickly ascended. They came to a small room, with a handful of small paintings adorning the walls. Now Elsa was genuinely appearing to be worried. Ennen didn't like it, more guards than this were posted, and by damn, he didn't want to get into a fight of some sort with his new uniform. They walked into another room, Elsa now looking back and forth rapidly, clearly beginning to panic. Ennen was also uncomfortable, he just realized he hadn't packed his knives, and even inside the castle, things can go wrong.

And they did, gloriously.

They turned into another room, Elsa looking frantically back and forth, Ennen beginning to form something to say. That's when he heard her yelp, turned to look at her, but didn't even get the chance before he felt a searing pain enter his gut. He looked up startled, straight into the eyes of a hooded man, and realized he had just been knifed. With his new uniform on. Goddamn.

In a sudden rage, ignoring the knife that had been stuck in him, he threw a massive uppercut, throwing his would be killer back a couple feet, and tore the knife out of his side. He turned to see a man looking at Ennen horrified, as he tried to grab the Queen. Instinctively, Ennen flipped the knife, and caught it by its blade. The attacker tried to put Elsa in a hostage position, but was too late, the knife was already arcing its way to his head. The man threw up an arm to deflect it, but instead caught the knife with his hand, it went straight through. He yelped, and gasped as Ennen grabbed the man's hand, and rammed it into a wall, effectively pinning him with the knife. As for the other assassin, he was still dribbling on the floor from the thunderous uppercut Ennen had thrown.

"C'mon Elsa, I think we may have a problem." Ennen muttered, looking down at the blood seeping from his wound, and giving Elsa a once-over, making sure she was alright.

"Ennen! Oh my god…" She gasped, tears forming the edge of her eyes.

Not paying attention, Ennen had already torn fabric from his jacket, and tied it tightly around his waist, like a bandage. The rage wearing off, the pain began to come back, slowly taking over. He managed to gasp out a laugh.

Typical.


End file.
